Ooey gooey chocolate chip peanut butter bars…
The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bars
These chocolate chip peanut butter bars are one of the top most popular recipes on my blog – and for very good reason!
When you need a recipe that both meat eaters and vegans love, these bars are an absolute must-try, because they will never let you down.
Of every dessert I’ve ever made, these peanut butter bars are still one of my go-to recipes for parties, because they’re easy to transport, get rave reviews even from guests who aren’t into healthy eating, and you’re pretty much guaranteed no leftovers by the end of the night.
People go crazy for the soft, gooey, peanut buttery texture and melty chocolate in each delicious bite, and they taste like the lovechild of a chocolate chip cookie and a Reeses peanut butter cup!
*There’s now also a chocolate brownie version, so be sure to try the Brownie Batter Bars!
Above – watch the video of making the peanut butter bars!
The peanut butter bars can be:
Vegan
Keto
Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Sugar Free
Egg Free
Grain Free
Soy Free
Paleo
And Oil Free
(For high-protein peanut butter bars, make these Protein Bars.)
Homemade Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bars
With chocolate and peanut butter, is it any surprise how good these are?
If Nestlé and Hersheys were to collaborate on a dessert, I’m pretty sure they’d come up with something along the lines of these gooeylicious chocolate chip peanut butter bars.
The recipe was originally adapted from my Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies, and I’ve changed it over the years to make it even better (which I didn’t think was possible, because the original was so good!).
Below is the newest version, which now includes a keto friendly option for those who need it. Everyone should be able to enjoy these crazy delicious peanut butter bars!
(Above, bringing the bars to a party earlier this year. They did not last long!)
If you want a bigger batch, try the popular Ryan Reynolds Blondie Bars.
Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bars
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup applesauce, or yogurt such as coconutmilk yogurt
- 1 cup peanut butter OR allergy-friendly alternative – nut-free recipe here
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp flour – you can use spelt, white, sorghum, oat, almond, even or buckwheat (50g)
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar of choice or xylitol
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips, optional
- up to 2 tbsp milk of choice, only if needed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease an 8-inch pan, or line with parchment. Gently heat nut butter if not already stir-able, then stir in the applesauce and vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, stir baking soda, salt, flour, sugar, and chocolate chips. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and keep stirring—it will seem very dry at first, so you’ll need to break up the nut butter and stop occasionally to scrape it off your spoon. If needed, slowly add up to 2 tbsp milk of choice as you stir. Don’t add more milk; it will eventually get gooey like cookie dough. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Smooth down evenly. (I press a second sheet of parchment on top to smooth, then remove this sheet.) Press some chocolate chips into the top if desired. Bake 10 minutes. When you take the peanut butter bars out, the top will look set but they will still be very undercooked underneath. This is okay! Leave them to cool for at least 20 minutes, during which time they will firm up. (They also firm up even more overnight.)View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
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Could I use date paste as sugar? My husband has prostate cancer and we eat no sugar becuase of it.
These are really delicious! I made a few changes, if you are interested:
I usually only have homemade peanut butter in the house, and I find that it does not really “lend” itself to baked goods. I happened to have a jar of Skippy (gasp–I know, it is so bad for you!), so I figured, OK, I will use that. Because of that, I only added half the sugar the recipe called for. I also used an egg in place of the yogurt (no special reason, I just prefer eggs in baked goods). The end result is very tasty, but almost too sweet. Therefore, I encourage you to cut down on the sugar if you use the bad-for-you, processed peanut butter.
Oh, and it needs more chocolate chips 🙂
Do you think I can swap out the sugar with pure maple syrup? And if so, what equivelancy do you think?
Thank you!
Use this recipe instead: https://lett-trim.today/chocolate-chip-cookie-bars/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Hi Katie! Family loved them! I served them warm with ice cream in between 2 pieces. I used gluten free all purpose flour and they turned out great. Love your recipes!
Love these so much. I’ve even found the flavor doesn’t change much and they are still just as good without the sugar.
You don’t list how many chocolate chips go into the recipe. It looks like a cup or more in the video. All you list is 1/4 cup, optional, to go on top. Please clear this up. I’d liek to make this for my husband. Thank you.
Never mind responding. I just read another review that stated the 1/4 cup is correct.
Yep they were good! Used monk fruit. They seemed almost rawish in the centre when they came out of the oven, but if you follow the instructions you will have a nice soft and chewy treat.
Does the 1 cup peanut butter have to be all-natural and no salt.
Nope! People have used all sorts of nut butters with no issue. Personally, Katie likes peanut butter WITH salt, but many people say unsalted is fine as well.
These were good, though I think I would change a couple things. They were a bit too sweet for my taste and the baking soda came through quite strongly. I will try cutting back on the suggested amounts. Very, very soft set, even the next day – like an underbaked brownie (not a bad thing!) I’m looking forward to trying different flours or even oats. Thanks for the recipe!
I love your recipes! My grandson has many food allergies, sugar being one. He does not like the taste of xylitol, could I use pure maple syrup instead? Thank you!!
You can! This is the version with maple syrup: https://lett-trim.today/chocolate-chip-lunchbox-bars/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E